A cash handler is a piece of equipment that is able to accept cash, in the form of coins and/or notes, from a purchaser who would like to purchase a product or service. A cash handler automates the acceptance of cash so that a human attendant is not required. Often, cash handlers are integrated into vending machines to allow purchasers to use cash to purchase products from the vending machines. Due to the current ubiquity of payment cards (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, and the like), however, purchasers are less inclined to use cash at vending machines if vending machines permit payment with payment cards. This trend, together with the relatively high cost of cash handling, can significantly reduce the incentives for a vending provider to provide vending machines with cash handlers. Accordingly, vending providers may provide cash handling in a small subset of vending machines, if at all, which can make it difficult for potential product purchasers to find a vending machine capable of accepting cash.